AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL FOR THE DEFENCE OF GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS - D.O.G.S.

PRESS RELEASE 109#.

FOR VICTORIAN ALP GOVERNMENT PLAN TO DESTABILIZE AND DESTROY FREE, SECULAR AND UNIVERSAL PUBLIC EDUCATION SEE www.fightingfor publiceducation.info

PUBLIC EDUCATION IN PERIL

STEVE BRACK'S PHILOSOPHY AND THE REVIEW OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING LEGISLATION THREATENS PRIVATIZATION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IN VICTORIA

On two significant occasions, Steve Bracks, the son of a DLP supporter, has not only become Premier of Victoria, but has espoused dangerous philosophies in relation in relation to public education.

In a recent Media Released dated Wednesday April 20, 2005, he made the following statements about Mr. Blair's private "academies" which are taking over or replacing State schools in the UK. Bracks enthused"

"They are aimed at putting parents and pupils at the centre of the educations system, with greater autonomy for schools owning and managing their assets, employing their own staff and forging partnerships with the private sector.

There is a plan for 200 City Academies to be open or in the pipeline by 2010 in areas with inadequate existing secondary schools, with 60 Academies in London.

The first three academies opened in 2002, and there are currently 17 across the United Kingdom. ....There has been massive reinvestment in education under the Blair Government ...There are lessons we can learn from the way these type of educational institutions are run in the UK and how best to deal with the most disadvantaged students."...

Mr. Bracks further said that policy experimentation and innovation was important to ensure the State Government kept up with best practice around the world 

"We are very keen to learn about these Academies and the programs and opportunities they provide...We would also be keen for educational reformers such as those involved with the Mossbourne Academy to come to Victoria to look at our education system."

Brack's attitude to "forging partnerships with the private sector" should be related back to the statements and behavior of "Baton Charge Bracks" at the original S11 - The World Economic Forum held in Melbourne in September 2000. A fuller discussion of his philosophy on this occasion is found in DOGS Press Release #23 http://www.adogs.info/pr23.htm

A report by Louise Dodson in The Age 12 September 2000 is revealing.

She reported that, while chairing a key session, Mr. Bracks said:

"The consensus of the session was there were not too many services which could not be outsourced as long as the rules were set and the competitive level playing field established."
 

He added that the role of government was "an urger, a promoter and a protector".

It should be noted that the group which he chaired decided that only defence, diplomacy, monetary policy and fiscal policy were core government activities.

Since these are federal powers, Bracks appears ready to throw public services, including public education, to the highest bidders!

In the light of the above DOGS concern about the current Review of Education Legislation in Victoria is so dangerous. We refer you to our Advertisement in The Age 26 April 2005 reproduced on our second website at www.fightingfor publiceducation.info

One has to only read a few sections of Lynne Kosky's Discussion Paper entitled "Review of Education and Training Legislation ". Consider the following :

"We recognize that parents want a wide range of choice in the institutions in which they can enroll their children and students require choice in further education and training to realize their own ambitions. How best to provide that choice within a framework that ensures minimum standards and quality of outcomes is one of the many issues raised in this paper."(p.1)

and the question:

"Should people's right to choose between school education providers, registered or recognized by the Government, be established as a guiding principle in new legislation?" (p.15)

or  again,

"It might be timely for legislation to acknowledge as a threshold principle, the right of parents to choose the kind of schooling they wish for their children." ( p.10)

or

"The application of principles such as choice, obligation and transparency require a consistent approach to registration review across the education and training system. There is an expectation of minimum standards of registration for all schools to assure the community that its young people, whatever the choice of school, will have access to the right curriculum, right competencies and right values." (p.11)

A swift perusal of this document indicates that it is a blueprint for privatization of our public education system. It is merely an extension of the philosophical preferences of the Premier, Steve Bracks himself.

The failure of Blair's "academies" is causing grave concern in the United Kingdom. (See The Guardian Education Reports)

Why does Bracks insist on slavishly following Blair and visiting his failures on the school children of Victoria?